Chuck O’Rear with a copy of his ‘Bliss’ photo in the area where it was shot 

Former National Geographic magazine photographer Chuck O’Rear was driving
to see his girlfriend when he was struck by the beauty of the rolling vineyards in
Sonoma, Napa, California. He stopped, got out his camera and snapped what
would become the most viewed image in the world. It was chosen by engineers
at Microsoft as the desktop image for their Windows XP background.   

He can’t say how much he got paid for the rights to the photo, but it is reportedly
the second most expensive photo license ever purchased. 

O’Rear now specializes in photographing winemaking in the Napa, California area 
and around the world.

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